USS Iowa (BB-61), commissioned in 1943, is referred to as "Big Stick". This nickname was applied to USS Iowa for its role as the Big Stick of the Pacific during WWII. USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) commissioned in 1986, is also nicknamed Big Stick for TR's well known quotation.
The crate of 16 inch shells that bursts open during the attack is labeled 8311-XHT - THX 1138 backwards.
The "retired" USS Iowa represented at the end is actually USS North Carolina (Nickname: "The Showboat") BB55 on display in Wilmington, North Carolina. It was the first "modern" battleship of the Washington Conference design laid down in 1937 and commissioned in 1941. When it was launched. BB55 was a 39,000 ton 739 foot ship and was soon dwarfed by the the bigger battleships that followed.
Iowa BB61 at 45,000 tons and 839 feet long was laid down in 1940, launched in 1942 and finally commissioned in 1943. The famous Missouri BB63 "Mighty Mo" followed in 1944 and as being in the Iowa class, retained very similar dimensions.
North Carolina's twin stack arrangement in profile are a bit unique compared to later battleship designs and were shared by its sister ship, BB56 USS Washington, scrapped in 1961. Information from navsource.org.
A hapless seaman was on deck during the firing of one of the 16 inch guns and was presumed blown overboard and had to be reported as "missing in action, presumed dead". A chief radar-man on Showboat said that he was outside his radar station way up above deck on a platform on the big conning tower to watch the firing of the 5-inchers and had his hat blown off and lost his hearing for a while. He said he never did that again.
The flight of four aircraft referred to as the "cavalry" are uncredited in the movie, but are a group of aviators flying Nanchang CJ-6As from Northern California. The clip appears to be have been filmed during the 2011 Fleet Week Airshow over the San Francisco Bay.
In the German Version, the Film Bermuda Tentacles (2014) is titled "American Warships 2" because of the success of American Warships (2012).